Ableism at university: experiencing student life with an invisible disability

Abstract

Within universities, the architectural design of learning spaces and intellectual design of learning programs remain a reflection of historical exclusion of disabled individuals. And while research on visible disability-inclusion is increasing, invisible disabilities -which are larger sources of drop-out and affect more students- are being left behind. Moreover, the vast majority of the small number of studies on invisible disabilities at university, exclude the perspective of the students themselves. Therefore this study answers the question ‘How do students with invisible disabilities experience studying at Utrecht University?’. Visual-interviews, diary-interviews and focus groups were applied to step into participants’ lived experiences. Results show that there are five important themes within invisibly disabled students’ experiences: (1) the invisibility of their struggles and investments to actors at university, (2) the stigma with which they are approached by actors within the university system, (3) the ableism within the university system disabling them through rigid rules, schedules, tests and assignments, (4) the mindset of individuality applied within the university, prohibiting them from reaching out for support and (5) an optimistic idea about a trend towards more inclusion. Findings show a powerful neoliberal idea of being personally responsible for ensuring optimal health and productivity, which decreases care-duties for organizations like universities.